Florante “Ranni” Eder Manzanero was born to the late Florentino and Carolina Manzanero, a Stevedore Foreman and homemaker, in Baloganon Masinloc, Zambales, Philippines on November 8, 1946. He graduated from the Mapua Institue of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1971. He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1986 and settled in Silver Spring, Maryland. He worked as Chief Engineer and Project Manager at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and retired after more than 20 years of service in 2017.
Ranni was blessed with a large loving family. He married Susan Rimando in Baguio, Philippines on April 17, 1982. Together with his wife, they had four children: Mark, Niccolo, Natassja, and Alyssa.
Ranni was an intellectual and creative man with an expertise in engineering and architecture. He played an instrumental role in the structural design for the Silver Line of the Washington Metro Subway. This line created a means of public transportation from areas surrounding DC, MD, and VA, to the Washington Dulles International Airport. During his retirement years in Milford, Delaware, he used his skills to estimate and design over 300 homes for a regional developer. He also designed and built his own homes in Burtonsville, MD and Milford, DE. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, traveling around the world, and singing karaoke songs by Matt Manroe and Frank Sinatra. He truly embodied the life of the Filipino American dream. He resided most of his life in Silver Spring, Maryland, and spent his remaining years in Milford, Delaware where he passed away on February 6, 2023, after his battle with lung cancer at home hospice, under the loving care of his family. The loss is immeasurable but so is the love left behind.
Ranni is survived by his wife, Susan; his sons Mark and Niccolo Manzanero; his daughters Natassja Helton and Alyssa Wetherell; his sons-in-law Larry Helton and Brian Wetherell, his grandchild Camille Wetherell, his brothers Nestor and Charlon, and his sisters Eden, Ligaya, Lori, Grace, Carrie and Joy. He is preceded in death by his sister, Delia; and his parents.
